Israeli parliament elects Reuven Rivlin as Pres.

(MENAFN - Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) The Israeli parliament, or Knesset, elected Tuesday far-right Likud party member Reuven Rivlin as president to succeed Shimon Peres, whose tenure expected to end next month, Israeli media reported.
Rivlin won 63 votes against 58 votes for his centrist challenger Meir Sheetrit in a session attended by 119 MPs.
Rivlin, who will be Israel's 10th president, was Peres' challenger seven years ago.
Born in occupied Jerusalem, Rivlin was deputy mayor of the city in 1998. He was elected as parliament member in the same year and became speaker in 2003. He was re-elected in 2009 and became a speaker too.